December 2019

Dear Business Owners

It has been a year since we have implemented the Victoria Road Security initiative. The initiative is to provide a visible security presence on Victoria Road and runs from The pump Station in front of Sonnekus apartments all the way to Link Road where South Beach apartments are.

Overall, we have definitely noticed an improvement on the business side of the Victoria Road strip however due to the negativity caused by the incident on Clifton in December ours and for that matter most security firms have had difficulty dealing with people in public spaces. For this reason, we have deemed it necessary to try and engage with the City to try and get more paid for law enforcement officers in .

I was at the recent Camps Bay Police Forum Meeting and it became evident that unfortunately the SAPS in CAMPS BAY is really stretched to put it in the nicest possible terms where the reality is that there are 4 police officers basically per shift and if someone is absent it puts even more pressure on the resources and at times they are unable to leave the station due to the limited manpower on shift. The Good news is apparently crime is down in the area but that leads to ultimately bad news as it becomes even harder to justify more officers to an area that is relatively safe with very few crimes compared to many other areas in the .

The City provides our area with 2 law enforcement officers per shift and 4 Metro police which actually sounds pretty decent until you realise our area stretches from all the way through to Seapoint and Mouille Point.

Something else we as the Committee came to learn is that the residents are doing a very similar initiative whereby, they have a security vehicle roaming the streets and identifying suspicious people and acting as a paid for neighbourhood watch to some degree however they are armed and trained to respond to serious crimes. This vehicle is backed up with a control room that is manned 24hrs and monitors many cameras throughout Camps Bay. These Cameras are linked to License Plate Recognition Software and so are able to provide vital information to the guards in the vehicles.

Through some good meetings we have had with the Trustees from CBCSI as well as the General manager we have decided that the best way forward is to somehow plug into the CBCSI Control room so that our Victoria Road Security can share valuable information with the Control Room and each can provide back up to each other.

The Camps Bay Business Forum 2 Van Kamp Street, Camps Bay, 8005 [email protected] +27 83 629 8736

Then we have recently received a quote from the City for Paid for Law Enforcement Officers which we intend to try and also have linked into the Control Room so that all information can be shared and incidents can be responded to. Law Enforcement was always the missing link which was vital as it is the only body which has arrest capabilities. They can act on by law infringements and enforce the rule of law from drunken driving to serving alcohol on the beach as an ice cream vendor.

The following businesses and individuals need to be thanked for their continued commitment to the cause from a financial point of view and kept the security going throughout the winter Months:

South Beach

Solomon Holdings’

Kove Collection/ Paranga/ Zen Zero/ The Marley/ Bilboa/ The Bungalow/ La’belle

Hard Rock Café/ Ocean Blue/ The Butcher/ Rainbow

Sunsets Café

Isaacs Corner/ Vida E

Quenet Properties/ 41 Restaurant

Café Caprice

Tigers Milk

Place on the Bay

Nox rentals

Atlantic Views

Then Village and Life which is a new addition and is sure to have a huge impact on the initiative and has been the reason from a financial point of view that our security initiative is able to plug into the CBCSI infrastructure .

We have had the POD Hotel Come on board recently as well as Ocean Basket has shown commitment to the cause .

The Camps Bay Business Forum 2 Van Kamp Street, Camps Bay, Cape Town 8005 [email protected] +27 83 629 8736

But we need everyone to try and pull their neighbouring business into the scheme for it to really work successfully. There cant be free riders it just becomes unsustainable and unfair on those around to have to carry the free riders.

If we get Law enforcement on board we need to commit to them for probably 2 years at least. There will be to lease vehicles and it is a serious commitment.

The Fee structure would work as follows:

Small Business R1000 per month

Restaurant or medium Business R3000

Small Landlord( property size less than 1000 Squares) on the Strip R6000

Large landlord R30 000

Guesthouse R100 per room per month minimum R750

By joining the CBBF you will automatically become a member of CBCSI

Our Target is to collect R200 000 per month so we can try and deliver on what has been laid out above. There is no doubt a proper solution is needed and I am sure if we all pull together we will be able to deliver !

Please contact me if you have any questions.

Kind regards

David Raad

The Camps Bay Business Forum 2 Van Kamp Street, Camps Bay, Cape Town 8005 [email protected] +27 83 629 8736